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Employee Owned Holdings Inc. President and CEO to Retire

Anthony J McGarvey, a 28 year company veteran, has retired, leaving Richard Neels to be his successor.

Houston, Texas. January 4, 2008: On December 31, 2007, Employee Owned Holdings Inc. announced the retirement of President and CEO Anthony (Tony) J. McGarvey.
A member of the company for 28 years, Tony started with Hydraquip in 1979, was promoted to Sales Manager in 1982, and then to vice president in 1984. In 1989 he was promoted to company President. During his tenure as President, Tony guided the company through many major milestones, most notably the implementation of a 100% ESOP in 1998. Additionally, Tony oversaw a defining company transformation when on January 1, 2007 Hydraquip was split into three separate entities: Employee Owned Holdings, Inc., Hydraquip Distribution, and Hydraquip Custom Systems. This allowed for each entity to focus on their core competencies, and better serve their customers. A true forward-thinking leader, Tony’s steady guidance has been instrumental in establishing Hydraquip as one of the leading Fluid Power Distributors in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

Richard Neels, President of Hydraquip Distribution, was named to take over as CEO and President of Employee Owned Holdings, Inc. on January 1, 2008.

“I am grateful to have spent these past 28 years with this great company, and am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to lead it for the last 18 years” McGarvey said in a statement. “Richard has been preparing for his new role as my successor for several years, and 2008 is the right time for him to assume his place as the leader of the companies.”

Neels started with Hydraquip in 1976, and has since served in virtually every capacity within the company. His tenure has been filled with sales, systems, repair and purchasing experience; and his product knowledge and leadership skills have proven to be invaluable. In 1991, Richard became Sales Manager, and in 1993 was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In January of 2007, when the company split into three entities, Neels became President of Hydraquip Distribution Inc.

“I am excited about this opportunity, and it is my desire to sustain the profitable growth that we have experienced over the years and to continue to be an enjoyable place of employment for all of our owners” commented Neels. “The company is in a position of real strength right now - we’re doing well financially, and our people are passionate and dedicated, so it’s definitely going to be fun!”

Helac Corporation Appoints Wayne Staab as Eastern Regional Sales Manager

Hydraulic rotary actuator leader hires 25-year sales veteran to oversee their Eastern Sales Region in North America

Seattle, WA – January 15, 2008
Helac Corporation, a leading component manufacturer since 1978 of helical, hydraulic rotary actuators and construction equipment attachments, announced the appointment of Wayne Staab as Regional Sales Manager for the Eastern Region. He will be responsible for growing sales and retaining business on all rotary actuator division OEM accounts. Staab brings 25 years of field-based, regional sales management experience in a wide variety of fluid power and mobile hydraulics industries, including hydraulic systems, components, and seals.

Wayne will be working from a virtual office in Orange Park, Florida to ensure he has close proximity to his key accounts in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Labrador, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

“Wayne understands the business challenges our customers are facing today. His customer-focused selling approach and depth of industry knowledge are valuable assets to helping our customers reduce costs and boost productivity,” said Marty Koval, director of sales for Helac Corporation. “Wayne possesses the drive, passion, work-ethic, commitment, outlook, accountability and skill set necessary to contribute to the success of Helac Corporation and the OEMs in his territory."

“Helac’s world-class, rotary positioning solutions offer an excellent opportunity for continued, long-term success for me and my customer base,” stated Wayne Staab, Eastern Regional Sales Manager for Helac Corporation. “I look forward to leveraging my hydraulic systems experience to become an integral partner in my customers’ organizations by offering the optimum solutions for their business.”

Prior to joining Helac Corporation, Wayne worked in regional sales management positions Hydraulic Supply Company, SMC Pneumatics Corporation and Festo Corporation. During his employment with Hydraulic Supply Company, he helped grow their business by increasing sales by 37 percent in his region. Wayne was accepted into the president’s club in honor of his outstanding performance. Preceding that, Wayne doubled and tripled sales in his region at SMC Pneumatics Corporation and Festo Corporation respectively. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.

About Helac Corporation
A leader in the fluid power industry for over 30 years, Helac Corporation manufactures a comprehensive line of helical, hydraulic rotary actuators and construction equipment attachments. Helac products are used as component parts for OEMs and after-market attachments by the construction equipment industry. Helac rotary actuators have established a reputation for their unique combination of features, including tremendous torque output, compact dimensions, exceptional load bearing capabilities and rugged, reliable performance. Helac PowerTilt and PowerGrip, two specialty products, increase the utilization of backhoes and excavators. Over 1,000 OEM customers in diverse markets worldwide depend on Helac products for quality, reliability, ease-of-use, and durability.

Eaton’s Hydraulics Operations names Jeff Schick Director - Manufacturing Operations, Controls Div.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. has announced that Jeff Schick has been named director - Manufacturing Operations for Hydraulics Operations' Controls Division, effective immediately. Schick will be based in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Schick joined Eaton in 2004 as plant manager at Eaton’s Spencer, Iowa, hydraulics facility. Prior to joining Eaton, he worked for John Deere in new product development and operations management roles. Most recently, Schick served as the integration manager for the Hydraulics Operations’ global manufacturing and logistics strategy initiatives. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana, a master's degree in engineering at Iowa State University and a master's degree in business administration at the University of Iowa.

Promotions at Accumulators, Inc.

Houston, Tex. – Accumulators, Inc. is pleased to announce the following personnel changes: Rick Kendall has been elected Executive Vice President; Jeff Ramsey has been promoted to Sales Manager; and Dwayne Lister has been promoted to Chief Engineer.

Richard T. Kendall has been an executive with Accumulators, Inc. for 16 years. In addition to his current Sales and Administrative responsibilities, Rick will now head the Company’s acquisition and partnering activities. He has been instrumental in making ACC INC the supplier of choice in the Petrochemical market and in the worldwide fluid power industry. Prior to joining Accumulators, Inc. he led the distribution division of Kenett Corp., which was one of New England’s largest fluid power distributors/manufacturers. Rick has also published numerous articles and has been a speaker at many trade seminars regarding fluid power applications. Rick serves on the Board of Directors of ShareTheCaregiving, Inc. the international organization supporting the infirmed. He is a graduate of Northeastern University, Boston, MA.

Jeffrey W. Ramsey has held numerous positions with ACC INC during his 17 years with the Company. His new duties include both administrative functions and customer relations. He will continue to oversee order processing and the supervision of our inside sales staff. Additionally, he will be working directly with key accounts to provide application assistance and long-term planning. Jeff has already established ACC INC. as the primary supplier of accumulators in the Mobile Crane industry and has greatly expanded the activity of ACC INC’s Repair & Service Center. Ramsey is a US Army veteran.

W. Dwayne Lister joined the Accumulators, Inc. team in 2005. During his brief tenure he has reorganized and upgraded the Company’s Quality Control Department by obtaining additional agency approvals and adhering to updated requirements of multiple codes and standards. He has expanded our testing facilities and streamlined “special order” processing. He will now supervise all Engineering and Quality Control personnel and assist the Sales Department in sales engineering and support. Dwayne is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a graduate of The University of Texas, Austin, Cockrell School of Engineering.

Congratulations to Tony on a great career at Hydraquip and as a contributor to the success of the fluid power industry overall. I will miss seeing you at the FPDA meetings.

Congratulations to Richard. A postion well deserved. Best of luck!

Balluff adds metal forming market expert Drew Stevens

Florence, Ky. – Balluff has named Drew Stevens as Business Development Support Specialist for metalforming. Stevens brings a wealth of metalforming expertise to his new role and will be responsible for directing Balluff’s metalforming support programs.

Stevens has been a journeyman diemaker since 1998 and has most recently been responsible for designing, implementing and troubleshooting die-protection at Die-Matic Corp. in Cleveland. As Die-Matic’s sensor “Guru,” Stevens successfully maintained an in-house die-protection program while simultaneously reducing unplanned downtime and improving processes. Stevens also aided in the design of advanced board-level interface devices to improve Die-Matic’s existing technology.

Stevens attended Bowling Green State University and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree from Cleveland State University.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Paul J. Heney,

Weihsmann promoted to VP, regional manager at Kaman

Windsor, Conn. – Kaman Industrial Technologies today announced the promotion of Thomas A. Weihsmann to vice president, regional manager, reporting to T. Jack Cahill, president.

Weihsmann previously was regional manager, Southeast group. In his new position, he assumes full management responsibility over Kaman’s Southeast region, based in Atlanta, where he will oversee management functions including customer relationships, customer service, personnel management, asset management and financial performance.

Weihsmann began his career at Kaman in 1982. He left in 1985 to serve in sales management roles at the Morse division of Emerson Power Transmission and then with a distributor in the Northeast. He rejoined Kaman in 1994 as the Florida district sales manager. In 1997, he was promoted to district manager based in Atlanta and in 2003 was appointed regional manager.

"Tom has a distinguished record of successful customer relationship development, sales growth and financial performance improvement resulting in significant progress for Kaman Industrial Technologies" said T. Jack Cahill, President. "This appointment reflects the commitment we have to this major market area and the confidence we have in Tom to lead us to future levels of growth and delivering value to our customers."

Weihsmann graduated from Clarkson Univ. in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He and his family reside in Marietta, Ga.

SPIR STAR promotes Jerry Carter to Sales Manager

SPIR STAR a manufacturer of high pressure thermoplastic hose is pleased to announce the promotion of Jerry Carter to Sales Manager. Jerry joined the SPIR STAR team in 1997 and worked his way up to the position of Shop Foreman. With his dedication to service and broad product knowledge, he was promoted to Inside Sales in January 2002 and then to Senior Sales Coordinator in May 2005.

As Sales Manager, Jerry is responsible for overseeing the Sales staff and also developing and implementing new ideas to enhance the high standards of quality and customer service that SPIR STAR proudly represents. When asked about his perspective on his promotion, Jerry’s reply was, “As Sales Manager I am committed to upholding our company’s motto of Outstanding Quality and Outstanding Service with customer satisfaction being the first and foremost priority.”